Drop-door construction.



F. KESTLEW.

DROP DOR CONSTRUCTION.

APPLICATION FILED IIIAR". 26. 1917.

Patented Nov. 5, 1918.

4 SHEETS-SHEEI Il F. KESTLER.

DROP DOOR CONSTRUCTION.

APPLICATION FILED MAR.26.1911.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

F. MESTLER.

DROP OOOO CONSTRUCTION.

i APLICATION FILED MAR. 26,1917' M Q l l m Patented NOV. O, 1918.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

DI KESTMR.

DROP DOOR CONSTRUCTION. APPLICATION FILED MAR. 26. 19H.

Mmm Nov. 5, m8.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

i zen of the'lUnited States,

Y. closed by MEME-DWDM, CUlll'STldUCTlOlW.

neonati.

tpecilleation of Letters Patent.

Patented Non. 59 laid.,

application tied March 26, i917. serial lilo. lh'ttlh.

To all whom it may concern: l

Be it knownr that ll,l5"nno lineman, a citiresiding at Birmingham, in the countyof dederson, State of Alabama, have invented certain new and useful improvements, in lllrop-Door Con structionsof which the following is a specication. y

The present invention has reference to certain improvements in drop door mechy anism for freight cars generally,-

land particularly for freight cars of larg capacity and has reference to the' arran ment of the mechanism and its combination with the drop doors with which it is intended to` operate. My invention provides a means for operating the mechanism manually or pneumatically.

llt is one of the objects of my invention to simplify and strengthen all component parts of said door mechanism, thereby avoiding the necessity of holding the doors means of chains, worm wheels, tumbling shafts and other parts such as las exist in the present day'door construction l Y By my invention it is sought to eliminate till bil

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45 degrees,

and mechanism.

the strain on the door chains and gear wheels, thus overcoming the loss of lading on account of broken chains and preventing the lading from falling while the train is in motion.- The particular design of the car and slope sheets permits the lading to be unloaded betweenl the rails, thereby avoiding the usual damage .to the girders bins, particularly when a large amount of heavy lading-is constantly fallinagainst the girders.. Y

l y invention permits the door, door and slope sheets to beinstalled on an angle of which renders the car self cleanj ing and thus avoids the necessity of labor in unloading. By my invention the doorsmay be opened and closed in a short'spaoe of time which permits rapidity in 4unloading the cars.

lilly' invention -provides a locking device which ishoused in 'a specially formed casting, held inpositionby any suitable means and situated between the sills of the car, thereby strengthening the sills by tying them together. -llhe locking device is so constructed that the static strain and pressure'on the doors is transferred to the pivot blocks and the transmission arms counterbalancing the weights `on each door..

v'sections of a detail lll/.ly invention provides various other' features of improvement hereinafter referred to.

'lhe accompanying drawings illustrate one embodiment of the invention.

lFigures .l' and 2 are cross-sections with the doors closed and open respectively;

Fig. 3 is a plan of the pivot blocks and related parts 'when the doors are closed;

lli l is a plan of the same parts when the oors are open;

llligs. 5 and 5a are longitudinal and crossprovided for supporting the pivot bars;

Figs. 6 and 6EL are detail views illustrating the construction of the pivot blocks;

Fig. 7 is a broken plan of the winding worm and related parts;

lFig. 8 is a longitudinal view artly in section and partly in elevation) oipthe connections on the ends of the pivot barst Fig. 9 is a cross-section on the line 9&-9 on l1`1g.'7;

lFig. l0 is a cross-section on the line lill0 on llig. 9;

Fig. ll is an end elevation.

'llhe doors l are connected to the door castings 2 by bolts and rivets 3. IlFhe castings are made in two parts and are provided with sockets 4l into which fit the arms 5 forining a ball and socket joint. The arms are connected at their opposite ends to the pivot blocks 6 by the pins 7. Each pivot block has two jaws 8 connected together at the top by a web 9,-the recess thus formed between the jaws and under the web having a curved inside wall against whichthe curved end of the arm 5 bears when the car doors l are being closed or held closed, thus reducing the strain on the pins 7 when the doors are in said position.

The pivot blocks 6.are joined by and rotatable around a pin l0 forming a hinge joint. lEach pivot block has .a wing which comes in contact with the win of the opposite pivot block when the joint is fully open, the doors l then being closed. wings 11 are each notched or cut away at lllall on the portion of their lower face which is directly over the pivot bar 13 when the joint is open for the purpose of preventing collection'of waste material on the top of the pivot bars and. between the wings l1 which would obstruct .a full opening of the joint'. The pivot bars 12 and 13 are joined by the pin l0 to the pivot blocks,

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A door stop 14, being a curved flat spring, is attached to the outside of the web of the center sills 15 by the rivets or bolts 16 for the purpose of preventing the doors 1 from swinging beyond a vertical position.

The pivot bars 12 and 13 located between and below the center sills 15 are connected with each pair of pivot blocks 6 and extend from a cylinder 16 located near one end of the car, to the lock 17 at the other end of the car. The pivot bars are fastened together at their ends by means ofblocks 18 and 19 which are of suflicien't thickness to hold the bars at their proper distances apart and which are connected to the ypivot bars gy bolts 20, thus causing them to act as kone The said pivot bars 12 and 13 are held in position by several supports 21 which'are locked adjacent to each pair of pivot blocks and attached to the center -sills 15. The chain 22 is secured at one end with the worm gear 23 around which it is wound by means of a wrench on the end of the shaft 24 which forms a part of the manually operatable mechanismand said chain 22 is fastened at itsI opposite end to the fiange 25 which is a part of block 19.

The chain 26' is also connected to the worm' gear 23 and at its opposite end to the pivot bar 12 by means of the strap 27.

A pivot bar support is provided which comprises a frame 21 with flanges 28 on each side which are connected to center sills 15 by bolts and has two hanging guides 29 connected together at the bottom for the purpose of strengthening them. These guides support the bearing spool 30 by means of the pin 31 which passes through the two guides andthe spool so that the pivot bars may move horizontally with the length of the car. The pivot bar 12 is supported on the top of said spool.

A locking device is provided for holding the doors closed, 32 being a housing containing the vertical slide '33 and the ear wheel 34 on the shaft 35, which extends through the side of the car. This housing has two top flanges 36, which rest on the center sills 15 and are fastened thereto by rivets 37; the two vertical ribs 38 supporting the shaft 35 on which is the gear wheel 34. The said gear wheel operates on the geared slide 33,

` thus causing said slide to be moved downward to form a sto for the pivot bars 12 and 13 thereby holdlng the doors closed, or moved upward to clear said pivot bars, thereby allowing the doors to be opened. The studs 39 on each side of the slide prevent said slide from dropping or being lowered out of place.

On the end of the shaft 35, which extends outside of the car is a hand wheel 40, for turning said shaft, thereby raising or lowering the slide 33. On the shaft 35, there is a disk 41 with reversible notches, and a pawl 42 for holding the shaft as turned in either direction. The said pawl is fastened by a bolt 42a.

The cylinder 16 is supported between the center sills 15 by means of a hanger 43 by bolts 44 and the piston of said cylinder is connected to the pivot bar 12 by a strap 45, for the purpose of openin and closing the doors pneumatically. Said piston 'is controlled by a suitable four way valve operated with a lever 46 which lever is provided with a lock 47. y

The doors are closed manually by means of the mechanism comprising its shaft 24 on which is located the worm gear 23 on o ne end and the gear wheel 48 on the other end. This gear wheel 48 engages a smaller gear @wheel 49 on the shaft 50 which extends to the outside of the car. The said ear wheels 48 and 49 are contained in a ousin 51 which is riveted or bolted to the side o the car and on the inside thereof. The shaft 50 is provided with a ratchet wheel 52 and a pawl 53 attached to the outside of the car for the purpose of holding the 'doors from open to closed when they are beingoperated manually.

-What I claim is:

1. In a drop door operating mechanism the combination of a pair of doors located opposite each other, a longitudinally movable toggle operating rod located between the two doors, pivot blocks forming a hinge joint, a pin for holding the same together, each of said pivot blocks comprising a wing adapted to press against the wing of the other when the doors are closed, and-arms connecting said pivot blocks to saiddoors the strain on one door being transmitted directly to the other through said wings when the doors are closed, without substantial strain on the operating rod.

2. In a drop door operating mechanism, the combination of a pair of doors located opposite each other, a longitudinally 'movable toggle operating rd located between the two doors, pivot blocks forming a hinge joint, a pin for holding the same together, each of said pivot blocks comprising a wing cut away on the lower face thereof so as to pass over obstructions accumulated on the operating rod, said wings adapted to lpress against each other when the doors are closed, and arms connecting said pivot blocks to said doors, the strain on one door being transmitted directly to the other through said wings when the doors are closed, without substantial strain on the operating rod.

' 3. In a drop door operating mechanism, the combination of a pair of doors located opposite each other, a longitudinally movable toggle operating rod located between the two doors, pivot blocks forming a hinge joint, a pin for holding the same tgether,

maar i i each of said pivot blocks comprising a wing adapted to press against the wing of the other when the doors are closed, jaws at the outside end of each pivot block, a web oonnecting the jaws together, a recess formed between the jaws and under the web having a curved inside wall, an arm fitting in said recess,l a pin for holding the saine, said arm Connecting one of the pivot blocks with one of the doors, the strain on one door being transmitted directly to the other through said wings when the doors are closed, without substantial strain on the operating rod.

d. lin a drop door operating mechanism, the combination of a ypair of doors l located opposite each other, toggle operating rods 12 and 13 located between the two doors, pivot blocks 6 forming a hinge joint attached to said toggle operating rods by a pin 10, said pivot blocks cornprising Wings ll adapted to press against each other when the doors are closed and cut away on their lower faces l1 to pass over foreign matter on the operating rod 13 thereby permitting freedom of operation of said wingaeach pivot block comprising jaws longitudinally movable 8 and a web 9 on the outside end thereof, arms 5 fitting in the recess formed by said jaws andl web, said arms being connected to said pivot blocks by pins 7 whereby the strain on one door is transmitted directly to the other through said wings when the doors are closed, without substantial strain on the operating rod.

5. lln a drop door operating mechanism, the combination of doors and pivot blocks and arms for connecting the same, operating rods and means for longitudinally moving the same whereby said doors are opened and closed, and a locking device for holding said doors closed comprising a housing, a vertical slide contained therein, a gear wheel, a shaft on whieh the same is mounted, means for rotating said shaft whereby the vertical slide is raised or lowered into the locking position preventing the operating rods from moving longitudinally, and studs on each side of the vertical slide to prevent the same from dropping or being lowered out of place.

lln witness whereof, ll have hereunto signed my name.

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